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The tall blonde on the other side of the door wasn’t Monica. She vaguely looked familiar, but he couldn’t figure out where he knew her from. She was pretty, in her own right, but nothing like the raven-haired beauty he had been hoping to see.
“I’m sorry.” He cleared his throat. “I thought this was Monica Cole’s home.”
“Oh, you’ve got the right place,” the woman slurred. “Oh, Monica dear? I think the hunky guy from Rome is here to see you.”
Hunky guy from Rome? Was it a good thing Monica was talking about him? He wanted to think so, but the scrutinizing look the blonde was giving him threw him off.
“Luke?” There was that damn velvety voice again. The one that wrapped itself around him and refused to let go. The one he had been desperate to hear all day.
“Hey.” He had to clear his throat again. Damn, this woman affected him like no other. Made him unsure of himself. “I wanted to stop by and make sure everything was alright.”
“Aw, isn’t that sweet?” Another blonde popped her head around the wall that separated the entryway from the rest of the place. “He’s cute. No wonder you hooked up with him in Rome.”
“Ash …” Monica groaned as she dropped her head into her hands.
So this was Carmichael’s daughter. The one who was kidnapped and the reason Silverstein was in jail. If he remembered correctly from Caden’s intel, she moved away and now lived in Texas with her husband.
“Don’t Ash me. He’s hot, and I’m pretty sure he knows it considering Trista called him sexy. No need to play coy. Honesty is the best policy.”
The woman who opened the door must be Trista St. Clair, the model. She was the other name Caden had pulled in regard to Monica’s associates. No wonder she looked familiar. Her picture used to be plastered in every magazine.
“I did call him sexy and I stand by it.”
“Princess.” A deep growl rumbled behind him.
Luke whipped around and came face-to-face with a giant of a man. Luke was by no means small, but the man behind him had an easy five inches on his six-foot-two frame.
“Oh hey, big boy. You know you’ll always be the sexiest of the bunch.”
“Did Bentley send you to watch over us?”
One glance over his shoulder and it was clear who the man belonged to. Trista’s eyes darkened with lust and she looked ready to pounce on the man. The other woman looked ready to commit murder. The hands on her hips were just the icing on the cake.
“Time to go.” The man’s tone didn’t allow room for argument.
“That’s no . . .”
“Yup,” Trista cut Luke off and moved between him and the giant. “It’s time to go before this turns into a testosterone-filled match or some shit. Ash, grab our stuff. You and I both knew there was no way Falcon or Bentley would let us go anywhere without our watchdog. He’s just lucky he’s so damn sexy, and I’m in the mood to show him what that does to me.”
“Princess …” That time it was less growl and more exasperation.
He thought Ash mumbled something about alpha men under her breath, but he couldn’t be sure. He made a mental note to check out who Monica’s friends were married to. If he remembered correctly, she had mentioned that Ash’s husband was in a similar line of work to him, so it would make sense that Trista’s was as well.
“Go easy on her,” Trista whispered. “She likes you but doesn’t know what to do about it.”
He didn’t have a response. Not that Falcon allowed for one. The second Ash returned with their stuff, all three walked away. Leaving him alone on the front stoop.
“Come on in.” Monica gave him a little shy wave.
He moved inside and shut the door behind him. Making sure it was locked, he followed her farther inside.
Tonight she looked nothing like she had in Rome. She had been dressed to the nines; sophisticated business attire, perfectly styled hair, and expertly done makeup.
Right now, she was anything but. Her long black hair was tossed haphazardly onto the top of her head. She was wearing sweatpants that cuffed around her ankles and showed off her purple-painted toenails. The T-shirt was about two sizes too big and looked like it had seen better days. Her face was devoid of any makeup, and if he were being honest with himself, he much preferred this side of her than the one that got all dolled up.
“I was going to call you back.” He raised his brow and Monica winced. “Okay, at first I wasn’t, but now I want to.”
He didn’t even want to begin to try to figure out what she meant by that.
